You Are the Potter and We Are the Clay

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” Jeremiah 18: 1-2

As a teacher, I'm always looking for ways to "show" rather than just "tell" my students what I want them to learn.  I try to replicate in the classroom real-life situations that will help them get much needed practice, which is key for their second language acquisition process.  I see it with Dylan as well.  He learns best when he is immersed in an environment where he can witness the lessons come to life...where he can do more experiential-hands-on style of learning activities.  That's when he really "gets it."

Among everything else, Our Great God is an Amazing Teacher.  Nobody beats Him in the classroom of life.  He wins all the excellence in teaching awards, no contest!  One of such instances, of the Teacher-Nature of Our Lord is clearly seen in the passage above.  For 17 chapters we see Jeremiah's ears been filled by God's judgement for His People Israel...which will still continue in the coming pages...but here, at the beginning of chapter 18, God gives Jeremiah a classic high-impact/experiential learning practice, where His compassion for Jeremiah's battered heart is demonstrated...as Jeremiah takes his first step into the Potter's House.

The Prophet goes down to the Potter's house and he sees him working at the wheel.  What a precious image.  Like Jon Courson's commentary says, Jeremiah witnesses, even without God pointing it out, that there is purpose in the Potter's work, "he is not playing or amusing himself with the clay. He was making something of the clay." The analogy came to life right in front of Jeremiah's eyes...and he got it:  God is the Potter, we are the clay, and the wheel, the instrument He uses to shape us, is life itself.  The wheel of life can be grueling at times.  Its constant spinning could be dizzying.  Often, the Potter reshapes us completely...but the ultimate truth is: we are always in His hands.  The clay cannot resist the Potter's hands.  Imagine if it did...what a disaster that would be.  With the utmost care, the Potter's hands just smooth out all the rough edges, and as the wheel turns round and round, His tenderness molds us until we are finished and become what He had intended...a most beautiful creation.

Like the eyes of my students sparkle when they "get" the lesson after I put them in a situation where they can see it and touch it and experience it, Jeremiah's eyes were open to the teachings of God and to His Truth.  And we benefit from it, for the lessons learned by the prophet so long ago, come to life today in us.

May we remember we are the clay, and that we are always in the care of Our Divine Potter's loving hands, regardless of how mad the wheel is spinning below us.  In the Precious Name of Jesus.  Amen!